Penstemon plant named &#39;pheni reeda&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new  Penstemon  plant particularly distinguished by brilliant red and white flowers, medium size inflorescences, early flowering, medium-green foliage with narrow lanceolate leaves, medium vigorous growth, and an upright plant habit that is well-branched with steady and sturdy stems is disclosed.

GENUS AND SPECIES

Penstemon hartwegii Benth.

VARIETY DENOMINATION

‘Pheni Reeda’

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW PLANT

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Penstemon, botanically known as Penstemon hartwegii, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Pheni Reeda’. The new cultivar originated from a hybridization made in 2002 in Gilroy, Calif. The female parent is a proprietary Penstemon plant designated ‘106-1’ (unpatented) having dark pink flowers, and the male parent is a proprietary Penstemon plant designated ‘109-2’ (unpatented) having red flowers. The seeds produced by the hybridization were sown in November 2002, and the resulting seedlings were selected in May 2003. A single plant selection was chosen for further evaluation and for asexual propagation in the summer of 2003.

The new cultivar was created in 2002 in Gilroy, Calif. and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings and tissue culture in Gilroy, Calif. over a three-year period. The plant has also been trialed at Gilroy, Calif., and Hillscheid, Germany. The present invention has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.

Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar were applied for in Europe on Oct. 14, 2005 and in Canada on Mar. 29, 2005.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following are the most outstanding and distinguishing characteristics of this new cultivar when grown under normal horticultural practices in Gilroy, Calif. and Hillscheid, Germany.

-   -   1. Brilliant red and white flowers;     -   2. Medium sized inflorescences;     -   3. Early flowering;     -   4. Medium green foliage with narrow lanceolate leaves;     -   5. Medium vigorous growth; and     -   6. An upright and well-branched plant habit with steady and         sturdy stems.

DESCRIPTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS

This new Penstemon plant is illustrated by the accompanying photographs which show blooms, buds, and foliage of the plant in full color; the colors shown are as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures. The photographs are of whole plants about 3 months old, grown in a field in Gilroy, Calif. in mid July 2005.

FIG. 1 shows the overall plant habit, including blooms, buds, mature foliage, and plant habit.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the mature inflorescences.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

The following detailed descriptions set forth the distinctive characteristics of ‘Pheni Reeda’. The data which define these characteristics were collected from asexual reproductions carried out in Gilroy, Calif. The plant history was taken on nine-to eleven-week-old plants grown in Hillscheid, Germany in 2005. Rooted cuttings were planted into 12-cm plastic pots placed in a greenhouse. The plants were not pinched, so they mostly developed into single-stem plant habits. Most observations were made after nine weeks at the beginning of flowering. Color readings were taken under natural light. Color references are primarily to the RHS Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society of London (RHS) (2001 edition).

-   Detailed botanical description of the new plant: -   Classification:     -   -   Family.—Scrophulariaceae.         -   Botanical name.—Penstemon hartwegii Benth. -   Parentage:     -   -   Female parent.—‘106-1’ a proprietary dark pink-flowered             Penstemon plant (unpatented).         -   Male parent.—‘109-2’ a proprietary red-flowered Penstemon             plant (unpatented). -   Growth:     -   -   Form.—Herbaceous perennial; suffrutescent; tolerates only             slight frost; usually cultivated as an annual plant.         -   Habit.—Un-pinched plants develop one flowering stem with no             secondary branches at the base; for commercial purposes, the             plants are usually pinched so that 5-10 stems of equal             height will develop.         -   Height.—69 cm for a 9-week-old single-stem plant in late             summer.         -   Width.—about 15 cm.         -   Time to produce a finished flowering plant.—10 weeks for a             single-stem plant in a 5-inch pot (spring cultivation);             about 12-13 weeks for a branched plant.         -   Outdoor plant performance.—Use in garden beds or in             container planting.         -   Time to initiate and develop roots.—21 days in the spring.         -   Root description.—Somewhat fleshy at the base, mainly             fibrous, and self-branching. -   Leaves:     -   -   Arrangement.—Opposite and decussate.         -   Shape.—Lanceolate.         -   Apex.—Acute.         -   Base.—Sessile.         -   Margin.—Very weakly crenate with fine, short bristles.         -   Immature.—Color: Upper surface: RHS 143B Lower surface: RHS             143C Texture: Very finely pubescent.         -   Mature (fully expanded).—Length: 10.5 cm Width: 3.5 cm             Color: Upper surface: RHS137D (medium green) Lower surface:             Between RHS 138A and RHS 138B Texture: Smooth, glabrous, and             slightly glossy.         -   Venation.—Type: Pinnate Color: RHS 145C on the lower side;             venation hardly visible on the upper surface. -   Stems:     -   -   Length.—45 cm, without inflorescence, as measured from the             base upward (to the tip), excluding the inflorescence.         -   Diameter.—0.5 cm as measured at the midpoint.         -   Internode length.—4-5 cm.         -   Color.—RHS 144B.         -   Texture.—Sparse with fine pubescence.         -   Anthocyanin.—RHS 174B (brown), weakly present at the base of             the secondary branches. -   Flower bud:     -   -   Shape.—Tube-shaped with a closed end.         -   Diameter.—1.3 cm.         -   Length.—3.5 cm.         -   Color (at tight bud).—From RHS 45B at the tip to RHS 45C             near the base. -   Inflorescence:     -   -   Inflorescence type.—A terminal raceme, or rather thyrse with             two short secondary penduncles at every node, each peduncle             bearing 4 to 5 flowers or buds at different stages of             development.         -   Blooming habit.—Intermittent; removing of spent flowers             enhances development of new flowers.         -   Quantity of inflorescence per plant.—One (for a single stem             plant).         -   Lastingness of individual blooms on the plant.—4 to 5 days.         -   Fragrance.—None.         -   Inflorescence length.—24 cm (approximately one-third of the             total height).         -   Inflorescence width.—Up to 12 cm.         -   Penduncle.—Color: RHS 144B (light green) Length: Up to 4 cm             Diameter: 0.2 cm-0.3 cm. -   Flower:     -   -   Type.—Funnel-shaped with petals mainly fused, 5-lobed with             the free lobes opened outward or somewhat reflexed.         -   Floret quantity (per raceme).—Approximately 30 to 35.         -   Shape.—Funnel-shaped.         -   Floret diameter.—3.8 cm at the free end.         -   Floret length (or depth).—4.2 cm.         -   Color.—General: Bright red Petal lobes and outer surface of             corolla: RHS 46C Corolla (inner surface): RHS N155B.         -   Petals (lobes).—Quantity: 5 Arrangement: Two upper lobes             with two lateral lobes and one lower lobe Apex: Rounded             Base: Fused and funnel-shaped Margin: Entire Texture:             Smooth.         -   Upper lobes, size.—Length (from the Corolla opening): 1.0 cm             Width: 1.3 cm.         -   Lateral lobes, size.—Length (from the Corolla opening): 1.0             cm Width: 1.4 cm.         -   Lower lobe.—Length (from the Corolla opening): 0.9 cm Width:             1.2 cm.         -   Sepals.—Quantity: 5, in an overlapping arrangement Color:             RHS 143C (both surfaces green) Length: 0.7 to 0.8 cm Width:             0.6 cm Shape: Ovate Apex: Acute and somewhat crenate at the             tip Base: Attenuate Anthocyanin: RHS 185C (purple-pink) at             the lateral margins Texture: Finely pubescent.         -   Pedicels.—Color: RHS 144A (near the flower base anthocyanin             may occur, RHS 184A) Length: 0.5 cm to 0.7 cm Diameter: 0.1             cm to 0.2 cm Texture: Pubescent (covered with very short             hair). -   Reproductive organs:     -   -   Stamens.—Quantity: 5 total, of which 4 are fertile Filament:             Color: RHS 155D (white) Length: Two are 2.5 cm and two are             3.2 cm Diameter: 0.1 cm Anther color: Approximately RHS 187D             (grey-violet) Pollen amount: Abundant Pollen color: RHS 4D             (pale yellow).         -   Pistils.—Quantity: 1 Length: 2.8 to 3.2 cm Stigma color: RHS             155A (white) Style color: Lower part: RHS N74D (violet-pink)             Upper part: RHS 155D (white). -   Fruit and seed set: Plants are fertile; frequently, an ovate capsule     with a threadlike pistil initially visible; ovary is ovate, 0.5 cm     in length and 0.3-0.4 cm in diameter; when the corolla drops, the     ovary develops into a seed capsule (ovate) of about 1.0 cm in length     and 0.6 cm in diameter.     -   -   Seed.—Color: RHS 200B Shape: Irregularly round (a few more             oblong), wrinkled and pitted Diameter: 0.15 cm. -   Disease and insect resistance: Has not been observed.

Comparison with Parental and Commercial Cultivars

‘Pheni Reeda’ differs from the female parent, proprietary Penstemon plant ‘106-1’ (unpatented), in that ‘Pheni Reeda’ has bright red flowers, while ‘106-1’ has dark pink flowers. Additionally, ‘Pheni Reeda’ has darker green leaves, and is earlier to flower than ‘106-1’.

‘Pheni Reeda’ differs from the male parent, proprietary Penstemon plant ‘109-2’ (unpatented), in that ‘Pheni Reeda’ has a deeper red flower color than the red flower color of ‘109-2’. Additionally, ‘Pheni Reeda’ has stronger branching ability ‘109-2’.

‘Pheni Reeda’ differs from the commercial cultivar ‘Cathedral Hot Rose’ (patent status unknown) in that ‘Pheni Reeda’ has a main flower color of red, while the main flower color of ‘Cathedral Hot Rose’ is magenta. Additionally, ‘Pheni Reeda’ has a more compact plant habit and flowers earlier than ‘Cathedral Hot Rose’. 

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Penstemon plant as shown and described herein. 